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Gave it a try: {"A-10C_PAINT_1-a", 0 ,"A-10C_BVS_1-a",false}; {"A-10C_PAINT_1-a", 3 ,"A-10C_Decol_BVS_DRH_1-a",false}; The base layer worked, but no luck with the 3rd layer.

Another tangential question: Since someone online must have my skin to see my skin, and I can't expect everybody to have my personalized skins, is there a way to have DCSW find the closest match. For example, I decide to use the a custom 493rd skin which adds my personalized markings to the default skin. Is there a way to make sure that DCSW will display the default 493rd skin for everybody else who doesn't have the markings? If not, an "alias" line would be a great idea for an additional line in description.lua.

Awesome! Thanks, Skate. I'll give this a try tonight.

I just finished a batch of F-15 personalizations using the f15_decol and pilot_f15_patch files. Both are TGAs converted to DDS, and both allow items such as canopy names, nose art, fuselage/tail art and unit patches to be displayed on the aircraft (decol) and pilot model (patch). I'm trying to find out if there's a way to do this with other aircraft such as the A-10A or A-10C, as this makes for a much easier time to make skins and updates for personalizations like these.

Thanks, Skate. It's good to know that those are the material names and not just the textures. Unfortunately I already tried that with pilot_f15_helmet and had no success. I guess it's like the PTB; no way to assign it to a particular skin.

Thanks, Dave. No USN reflective helmet for me I guess, though I did fix the flightsuit. What's up with the blue railroad tracks anyway; ours were white! I also noticed that they put the squadron patch in the wrong place as well*. *J/K; I did my advanced flight training with the 562nd FTS at Randolph, so I know how the AF wears patches.

Guys, a tangential question: Is there a way to determine a MAX Material name from somewhere? I would like to modify my F-15 helmet on my personalized skins, and I've already tried the following line with no success: {"pilot_F15_helmet", 0 ,"pilot_f15_helmet_hf",false}; Thanks in advance,

Sorry Skate. Not to come off as a complete knucklehead, but I'm not sure of what that means, unless you're talking about assignment of the 3 digits of the serial number on the tail. What I'm trying to figure out is how to use these functions in the Modman Mod Maker: CFG (I think this is the one I want): Misc: The whole idea is to have a common set of textures for a virtual squadron with specific decol files and pilot files for each member, in order to avoid having to repeat each file in each livery folder. I'm also trying to do it in a way that dosen't require manual tweaking of graphics.cfg.

I think I've figured out the basics of skinning the F-15, including the TGA files vs. BMP to create "decals" similar to those in SF2. This opens the possibility of creating custom nose art and canopy names for myself and other friends. However, doing so on skins other than default skins (already zipped and in path) will require a huge amount of storage (liveries) or manual entries into graphics.cfg (common files to a zip). The most elegant solution is the zipfile for the skin (the tga dds files go into the livery), but I can't figure out how to get modman to make dynamic entries into cfg files. I know there are cfg and misc options in the mod maker, but there are no instructions or tutorials that I could find. The closest thing, the CDDS tutorial, seems to be obsolete with DCSW which now does the same thing with conventional zip files and native use of DDS. Does anybody know how to use the cfg/misc features of modman, or if not is it still a feasible solution to bundle files in a CDDS? Thanks in advance.

Thanks again, guys.

Thanks for the great explanation, SkateZilla. So what you're saying is that the first entry is simply the MAX object, and has nothing to do with legacy slots? If that's the case, then I should cover down with that every time. Regarding true/false, I can see a rationale for using true with commonly used things like letters/numbers and the like, but you mention using true for the F-100 as well. Is there any advantage to having a separate folder like you indicate in lieu of using the bazar/liveries folder? BTW, I've also seen this with the CAW Su-25T conversions for DCSW, and was wondering the rationale. Also, do you have two descriptions in the same file, or did you put two separate files in the same code block above? Thanks again!

I am very much interested in taking my skinning talents to DCS. Flanker 2.0 is after all where I cut my teeth skinning, so the circle is appropriate. That said, I'm confused with the entries in the description.lua file. The following entry was taken from Dave's A-10C from the 107th FS (Selfridge ANGB): livery = { {"A-10C_PAINT_1-a", 0 ,"A-10C_107_1-a",false}; {"A-10C_PAINT_1-b", 0 ,"A-10C_107_1-b",false}; {"A-10C_PAINT_1-c", 0 ,"A-10C_107_1-c",false}; {"A-10C_PAINT_1-d", 0 ,"A-10C_107_1-d",false}; {"A-10C_PAINT_1-e", 0 ,"A-10C_107_1-e",false}; {"A-10C_PAINT_1-f", 0 ,"A-10C_107_1-f",false}; {"A-10C_PAINT_1-g", 0 ,"A-10C_107_1-g",false}; {"A-10C_PAINT_1-h", 0 ,"A-10C_107_1-h",false}; {"A-10C_PAINT_1-i", 0 ,"A-10C_107_1-i",false}; {"A-10C_PAINT_1-j", 0 ,"A-10C_107_1-j",false}; {"A-10C_PAINT_1-k", 0 ,"A-10C_107_1-k",false}; {"A-10C_PAINT_1-L", 0 ,"A-10C_107_1-l",false}; {"A-10_Number", 0 ,"TactNumbers-USAF-Light_black",true}; {"A-10_Number_Noze_F", 0 ,"TactNumbers-USAF-Light_black",true}; {"A-10_Number_Noze_T", 0 ,"TactNumbers-USAF-Light_black",true}; {"A-10_Number_Wheel", 0 ,"empty",true}; } countries = {"USA"} I know in the old days there were a limited number of slots available for skins, and you had to insert the skin into the right slot. It looks as if this legacy has carried on into the original A-10C, and the existing description.lua defaults to the first skin slot for the A-10C. With the new DCSW livery system, should all description.lua files reference the first slot, or does this even matter at all as long as one legacy slot is selected? Also, It's evident that the True/False is whether to use the file in the livery folder (false), or use a common file (true). However, what does the "0" entry between the legacy entry and the new file entry mean? Thanks in advance. I can't wait to get a crack at that new crane!

Slick, That download is just a texture pack that fits the original A-6 cockpit from WOV. The means to get a cockpit for the A-6/EA-6B is listed in the readme. I apologize for the convoluted method, but intellectual property issues dictate the most conservative response in this case.

With the release of DCS World and the recent pre-order/beta acces to FC3, it appears that the LOMAC lifecycle has come full circle. With the transition of the franchise to DCSW and the modularity of the DCSW engine, I humbly propose a separate DCS forum and file section, separated along parallel lines from LOMAC much like Strike Fighters 1 vs SF2. Along the same lines of the SF1/SF2 Knowledge Bases, I would also love to see a DCS Knowledge Base. Topics of which I have interest include: Which BS1/FC2 mods are compatible with DCSW? Are A-10C/BS2 standalone mods compatible with DCSW? If not, what needs to be done to convert them? Which legacy skins are compatible with DCSW? This includes LOMAC/FC1 as well as FC2/BS1. What needs to be done to convert them to the Livery? Mission Editor tips and techniques. How to add LODs, and are there multiplayer issues? How to convert BS1/FC2 missions to DCSW (FC2 missions are bugged in FC3, but this should be fixed for release). Basic LUA scripting techniques (i.e. How do I fix a controller config file without having to clear category ) I would argue that a DCS Knowledge Base would be even more valuable than the SF series knowledge bases, since the community seems to be migrating in this direction, and because of limited activations the importance of not screwing up ones' install has become that much more prominent. Your thoughts?

All, In a couple of weeks, I'll be undertaking additional work responsibilities that will cost me the lion's share of my free time for the foreseeable future. At this point, I won't be able to take point on the Realism Mod. I have no problem staying on as integrator (I have professional experience in that department, and I can do that on the weekends), and I'll still do decals as required, but someone else will need to do the heavy lifting like sorting weapons, choosing avionics enhancement packages, et al. As it stands right now, we could put out a 1.0 framework as soon as the squadronlist.ini is finalized (and once we get permission as required), but unless someone steps up, this project may necessarily be reduced in scope.

Looks fantastic, Dave. Thank you.

I can't think of anything, Grinch, but if you see something you think would be cool, take some pictures and post here! We won't be doing 3D objects, but we can skin and decal.

I have no problem adding updated DLC data files as optional installs, but I'm not going out of my way to do so. I did the A-4L squadrons because the A-4L DLC didn't have any representative squadrons in game, and adding reserve squadrons apply to all of the A-4 LODs (and some of the A-7 LODs when I do those tails).

Re 142, I'm not sure. I've seen similar paint jobs for the E model, so I figure they must be more than Bicentennial. However, I've also seen the Red/Gold USMC pattern on the rudder as well. However, I already used the red/gold for VMA-133, so I opted for the fancier job with 142.

All A-4 Squadrons are finished. Next up is developing an A-7 tail template and adding the squadrons that transitioned to the SLUF. Two of my favorite tails: VMA-142 Flying Gators (front) and VMA-131 Diamondbacks (back).

All USN squadrons are done; 5 USMC squadrons to go. Then it will be the A-7 tails for the squadons that transitioned (e.g. VA-203). On a tangent, I think that adding landing lights to the flyable aircraft would be a great addition to the RP, but this is definitely not a "quick" fix. One airframe isn't bad, but all of them (or even just the flyable ones) will be a monster. Any volunteers to take a few aircraft? Honestly, I would be willing to do the data entries if I were just provided with the proper coordinates.

Screenshot of the A-4L with two of the new reserve squadrons.

No problem; 591 and 716 sounds right. Aussies are good.

No problem, DA. Good catch on the ANG squadrons; I didn't even connect the dots. All things being equal, I would like to leave the USN/USMC squadrons from 550 where they are, as each A-6/EA-6B unit has 15 decals at minimum (which will multiply with v2.0 as I go more timeframe specific). Anything I don't have to change there is a good thing. VAQ-33 is one of those with "only" 15 decals, so that would be comparatively painless, but I won't complain if we leave it exactly where it is. I actually thought the same thing you did when I put -33 in; it's not operational, but it flew a number of airframes so there exists the possibility of making multiple sets of decals for different aircraft. The A-4L squadrons can go anywhere. I just know that we had discussed 716-728 previously. I haven't done a full set, so there's no renumbering yet, so put them anywhere you like them. Just let me know the range and set it in stone so that I can make the decals. Here are the squadrons from my original post (to be renumbered as required): [squadron701] Name=VA203 DisplayName=VA-203 Blue Dolphins Nation=USN [squadron702] Name=VA204 DisplayName=VA-204 River Rattlers Nation=USN [squadron703] Name=VA209 DisplayName=VA-209 Air Barons Nation=USN [squadron704] Name=VA303 DisplayName=VA-303 Golden Hawks Nation=USN [squadron705] Name=VA305 DisplayName=VA-305 Lobos Nation=USN [squadron706] Name=VMA124 DisplayName=VMA-124 Bantam Bombers Nation=USMC [squadron707] Name=VMA131 DisplayName=VMA-131 Diamondbacks Nation=USMC [squadron708] Name=VMA133 DisplayName=VMA-133 Dragons Nation=USMC [squadron709] Name=VMA134 DisplayName=VMA-134 Skyhawks Nation=USMC [squadron710] Name=VMA142 DisplayName=VMA-142 Flying Gators Nation=USMC [squadron711] Name=VMA322 DisplayName=VMA-322 Fighting Gamecocks Nation=USMC [squadron712] Name=VMA543 DisplayName=VMA-543 Knight Hawks Nation=USMC and the screenshot. When you say Kiwi squadrons, please confirm that you're only moving RNZAF and not RAAF 1 and 6. I know that 1 and 6 are separated, but I have already released a skinpack that uses those addresses. We should keep them where they are.